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Vasa parrot
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The name vasa parrot is also used for the greater vasa parrot.

The vasa parrots that form the genus Coracopsis are four of in the Old World parrot family that are endemic to and other in the western . Some taxonomists formerly placed the species in the genus in , but this is now thought to be based on the results of a heavily flawed, later-debunked genetic study.


Taxonomy
The was introduced in 1832 by the German ornithologist Johann Georg Wagler. The was designated as the lesser vasa parrot by George Robert Gray in 1840.


Species
The genus contains four species:


Phylogeny
A 2011 genetic study found the from Réunion to be nested among the subspecies of the lesser vasa parrot from Madagascar and nearby islands, and therefore not related to the Psittacula parrots. It also found that the Mascarene parrot line diverged 4.6 to 9 million years ago, prior to the formation of Réunion, indicating this must have happened elsewhere. The accompanying the study is shown below:

Another group of scientists later acknowledged the finding, but pointed out that the sample might have been damaged, and that further testing was needed before the issue could be fully resolved. They also noted that if Mascarinus was confirmed to be embedded within the genus Coracopsis, the latter would become a junior synonym, since the former name is older. Hume has expressed surprise by these findings, due to the anatomical similarities between the Mascarene parrot and other parrots from the islands that are believed to be psittaculines.

(2025). 9781408157251, A & C Black.
However, a later study found that the placement of Mascarinus within Coracopsis was likely a result of cross-contamination of genetic material during the study, debunking this placement, and supporting them as being two distinct, unrelated genera within different subfamilies.


Description
They are notable in the parrot world for their peculiar appearance, which includes extremely truncated bodies with long necks, black to grey and a pink .

The skin of both female and male vasas turns yellow during the , and there is often feather loss. However, in females the feather loss can result in complete baldness. Another interesting feature of the females breeding is when her feathers, which are usually black to grey, turn brown without a moult. This is caused by the redistribution of , which is the that makes the vasas' feathers black.


Unusual characteristics
In addition to their appearance they possess aspects of their physiology that make them unique amongst parrots. Vasa chicks are known to hatch after only 18–20 days of , which is highly irregular as parrots of the vasa size range tend to take up to 30 days to hatch.

The male vasas' is able to evert into a , which becomes erect during mating – a feature unique to the . This phallus is associated with prolonged matings enforced by a . Baby vasas possess pads on their beaks which when stimulated prompt a strong feeding response. These pads disappear after only a few weeks, however the feeding or 'weaning' remains unusually strong well into adulthood. Often have to use a to force food into the crops of young vasas as the intensity of the weaning reflex prevents them from being spoon fed.

Vasa parrots infected with the debilitating psittacine beak and feather disease are known to turn white, which, during the 1970s when the first wave of birds were exported into and , resulted in them being mistakenly advertised by importers as .

  • Kundu, S., C.G. Jones, R.P. Prys-Jones, and J.J. Groombridge. 2012. The evolution of the Indian Ocean parrots (Psittaciformes): extinction, adaptive radiation and eustacy. Molecular Phylogenetics and Evolution 62: 296–305.

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